“This is a very hard-line game played by people who deal the cards in Europe this way, and they are showing Tusk his place in the hierarchy. It’s not the first time, and I’m afraid it won’t be the last, because he has already once been sent to the second-class carriage. It seems it’s happening again,” said former deputy foreign minister Paweł Jabłoński in an interview with the portal Niezależna.pl, commenting on the absence of a representative of the Polish government during consultations on a peace plan for Ukraine.
Talks on peace in Ukraine without Poland
Sunday’s meeting in Geneva, which concerned the 28-point peace plan for Ukraine proposed by the United States, was attended by representatives of the informal E3 group (France, Germany, the United Kingdom), as well as the EU, the U.S., and Ukraine. The talks, described as “extremely fruitful,” continued on Monday. However, no representatives of the Polish government were present in Geneva.
During his visit on Monday to the 7th European Union-African Union summit in Angola, Donald Tusk said that the German chancellor had informed him “about the details of his conversation with President Trump” and about his “assessment of Russia’s economic situation and the negotiations held in Geneva.”
Tusk added that he also discussed the results of the consultations in Switzerland with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and European Council President António Costa. According to him, they expressed the view that “Poland should participate in all formats concerning talks about a future peace and ending the war.”
Explaining his absence from the Geneva meeting, Donald Tusk stated that he was counting “on greater activity from President Nawrocki.” “If he is able to get something done, he should not hesitate, and I will truly and wholeheartedly support his actions if he decides on anything at all,” he declared.
The situation is very serious
Former deputy foreign minister and PiS MP Paweł Jabłoński admitted in an interview with Niezależna.pl that a situation in which Poland does not participate in talks concerning its security “is never a proper situation.” “It would be good if Poland took part in it,” he added.
“Why did this happen? It’s hard to say at this moment, but I have the impression that Donald Tusk’s narrative about how effective he supposedly is, how no one can outplay him, once again collides with reality. I hope something changes here, because if this continues, everything will simply be decided for us without our participation,”
he warned.
We should be at the table
Asked how Polish diplomacy should act in this situation, he stressed that “above all, we cannot agree to any solutions that are unfavorable for Poland.” “This must be communicated very clearly, but we should also demand to be at the negotiating table. Perhaps not only us, but several other countries could also join. But Poland, which is one of the biggest donors to Ukraine in this war, should take part in such discussions,” Jabłoński assessed.
According to him, “it is unimaginable” that matters related to “providing security guarantees for Poland – a country neighboring Ukraine” are being determined without its involvement. “We cannot agree to others deciding these matters for us,” he added.
Asked what he believes is the reason for the Polish prime minister’s passivity in such an important matter, MP Jabłoński said he has the impression that “no one really takes Tusk into account.”
“This is a very hard-line game played by people who deal the cards in Europe this way, and they are showing Tusk his place in the hierarchy. It’s not the first time, and I’m afraid not the last, because he has already once been sent to the second-class carriage. It seems that now it is being repeated,”
he assessed.
Ineffective Sikorski
The politician was also asked what role President Karol Nawrocki could play in this situation. “Everything indicates that, unfortunately, the government is not able to handle this. Perhaps Minister Sikorski should indeed turn to the president so that the president supports him in this,” the MP suggested.
“The rule is that the government conducts foreign policy, and it is up to the government what happens here. Of course, they will now want to shift onto the president the consequences of their own ineffectiveness – that should be expected. Nevertheless, it is a sign that in foreign policy, Sikorski very much likes to talk about how supposedly effective he is, but in practice, it looks unfortunately very weak,”
Paweł Jabłoński concluded.